1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image transfer system and a method therefor, and an image transmission apparatus and an image reception apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
In recent years, many kinds of digital camera apparatuses have been developed and put on the market. Further, there have been proposed apparatuses provided with a data communication function for the purpose of transferring photographed image data (image files). For most of them, however, consideration has been given only to data transfer between a digital camera apparatus and a file server; consideration has not been given to image transfer between digital camera apparatuses.
The image data storage medium used for many kinds of digital camera apparatuses is a non-volatile semiconductor memory. For some of them, there is adopted a mode of detachable memory card.
However, irrespective of the modes currently available for the operation of image data transfer, it is impossible to receive and store the sheet number of photographed images having a data amount that may exceed the currently available free storage of an image storage medium which is a semiconductor memory whose capacity is limited. In this case, therefore, the transfer operation should terminate promptly or there is a need for operating the transfer within a limit of the transferable sheet number of image data.
Also, even when there may be some room for the storage capacity, it is necessary to let the operator of the apparatus on the reception side determine whether he accepts or he should refuse the image transfer in accordance with a notification of the capacity requirement of an image storage medium if its availability will become extremely small after completion of the transfer operation of target image data.